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Tuesday, August 30, 2005 Any guesses as to why we have a twelve-week-old ultrasound baby picture on our web site? If the doctor is right, our new baby will be born on March 5, 2006. Is this a boy or a girl? We don't know yet! But I know that this person is now numbered as part of our family. We love how Erika already takes this little one into consideration and conversation.
According to Prolife America:
See 3D and 4D ultrasound pictures of tiny babies on their website here. How can there be an abortion debate, just considering what, through science, we know about the unborn? I believe the tide is turning toward life. Until this is settled, when no child is at risk in the womb, we will not stop praying for God to change the hearts of those who would take the lives of unborn children.
Tuesday, August 2, 2005
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Erika has begun her second year of homeschool. She is an avid reader and does well in all her subjects. She enjoyed Vacation Bible School at our church (especially the live animals), and Erika even went to a second VBS at another church. (She is pictured at right, standing next to her Aunt Laura.) Anna has been working hard at communicating verbally, resorting to using words more often than showing us what she wants. She enjoys music and can often be heard humming various tunes and making up words she can't remember to songs. Not pictured is the new addition to our lives, Sam. We obtained him in a way that appears to be standard operating procedure for people who don't want their dogs--he was dropped off on the street in front of our house. He's a bit rambunctious. We hope that after being neutered and trained this fall he'll settle down (and stop nipping us, digging up the Jenkins' flowers and chewing on the house). Sam's favorite pastime is collecting the most unusual roadside trash and laying it out for display in the front yard. Maybe I'll clean some of the stuff up and sell it on eBay. A drawback to panoramic photography is the difficulty of composition. There is no viewfinder per se for a large scale panorama. I realized a need for more foreground for the photo of Memorial Center I took last week. So last Friday, I set the tripod up for another round, aimed the KingPANO down towards the concrete walk, and fired an additional set of nine pictures to fill in the lower fifth of the original picture. (Note difference between the photo above and the smaller version below.) The patchwork sidewalk provides the balance needed. It looks best in black and white, which was my objective. (Run your mouse pointer over the photo to see it in color.) Friday, July 8, 2005
This picture of the East Tennessee State University Memorial Center (also known as the Mini-dome) is a digitally combined mosaic of 27 photographs (three rows of nine images) for a final image size of 10200x7800 pixels (nearly 80 megapixels, yielding a 34x26 inch 300 dpi print for one of my Highlands Media clients). The individual frames were captured using a Nikon D70 camera mounted to a spherical panoramic tripod head. The head, manufactured by Bill King, is called the KingPANO. I have nothing but compliments for King and his product. It seems like this device was made for the Nikon D70.
Sunday, June 26, 2005 Here's another nice picture from Thursday morning's excursion. This was taken in Engine Gap, a saddle between Jane Bald and Round Bald. By the way, we were up there yesterday, and everything is still in bloom and expected to peak midweek. You won't be disappointed.
Friday, June 24, 2005
On the left side of the Roan, there was a sea of low-lying clouds, and Mount Mitchell was visible as an island above them (difficult to see in the small image above, but discernable in the enlargement shown at right). A small cloud hangs over Roan Mountain, manufactured on the spot by the effect of compressed eastward breezes passing over the mountain range. As the morning progressed, the cloud formed out of thin air. Neat!
I'm almost lost for words to describe how beautiful this tiny spot on Earth truly is. Life is something for which to be thankful, whether you're hiking in the highlands, dodging raindrops in a storm, watching movies with your spouse, or holding your kids. It's all amazing and wonderful. God not only made an incredible Universe, He gave us senses to enjoy it all. Glory to God! This is all Your work, Father, and I join creation in the never ending song of gratitude, honor, and praise to You for all you have done, do, and promise to do in the eternity to come! [The composite photograph above was made from twelve overlapped digital images, yielding a 10233x3095 pixel image in a near 180 degree field of view; Nikon D70; ISO 200; NEF; 1/200 @ f7.1; circular polarizer; 18mm shot vertically.] Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Here are a few more pictures from yesterday's hike. Of course, the famous
rhododendron were everywhere. In Engine Gap, there is a field of golden
ragwort (senecio aureus). The photo on the bottom is the blossom of a flame
azalea. I've found a very useful database specific to the various and
abundant species on Roan Mountain at
www.etsu.edu/biology/roan-mtn/databases/database_index.html.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005 It's the first day of summer! Yet in the Roan Highlands at the highest elevations, the season is springtime. The picture below was taken today, directly above Engine Gap, and it shows Round Bald and the Roan High Knob in the distance. The Catawba Rhododendron are blooming this week. Just beyond Roan High Knob are the Rhododendron Gardens (not visible from this vantage point), which are easily accessed by road from Carver's Gap. Rhododendron dot the landscape across several ridges, joined by flame azaleas, bluets, and many other beautiful wildflowers and plants. [Download a brochure (in PDF format) about Roan Mountain if you want to visit.] I'm still trying for the elusive photograph of Roan Mountain with rhododendron in bloom and a deep blue sky and puffy clouds. We had that kind of weather last week, but the flowers weren't in bloom. Now we're basking in humidity, and the highlands vary from fog to mostly cloudy. I'll try again if a cold front passes through before Sunday. [This photograph is a composite of five vertical digital images, yielding a 4319x2879 pixel image in a wide field of view; Nikon D70; ISO 200; NEF; 1/400 @ f5.]
Visit Archive for Spring 2005
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As the summer passes by, Anna rocks her way through 2½,
and Erika turns six! I thought this would be a good time to bring you up
to date on the kids.
The Mini-dome opened in 1977, and
the football team played its first indoor home football game against
Mississippi College in 1978. Now that ETSU no longer has a football team,
and in light of evolving athletic needs at the university, there are
discussions of 
The
wait is over. Here is the picture I hoped for and more! Late Wednesday or
early Thursday, a "weak" cold front briefly ushered clear skies to
east Tennessee. I took the photo above looking west on the North
Carolina/Tennessee state line. Roan High Knob is the peak under the cloud.
Yesterday's visual
effects were incredible. 
The
blooming Catawba Rhododendron were the icing on the cake. One of the great
joys of the high country are its myriad of moods. Just two days before
(see entry below), the appearance of the mountains was quite different.
